Traveller



J. P. MACKIE TRAVELLER Jan. 9, 1968 Filed Nov. 4, 1966 MVEA/TOR JOHN 'PRINGLE M cKl E United States Patent ()fiice ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spinning ring traveller having an elongated main body portion one side of which defines a bearing surface for engaging the inner surface of a spinning ring, a lower curved portion receivable over the bottom of the ring, and a looped upper portion having a lower transverse bearing surface engageable on the top of the ring. The looped upper portion has a relatively large diameter and is located entirely above the transverse bearing surface and with a substantial portion thereof located to one side of the bearing surface on the main body portion. Downwardly extending from the transverse bearing surface generally at right angles thereto, is a toe portion for engaging the outer surface of the associated spinning ring. Preferably the traveller has an integral one piece body made of nylon reinforced with glass fibers.

This invention relates to the ring spinning of textile yarns and is particularly concerned with so called earshaped travellers used in such spinning. Travellers of this type have been known for many years but despite continual minor improvements the results obtained are not as good as might be wished. In particular the number of yarn breaks is relatively high so that a spinning frame operating with this type of traveller requires a considerable amount of attention from the operator. We have analysed the condition leading to these yarn breaks and on the basis of this have devised a form of traveller capable of giving greatly improved results under a wide variety of spinning conditions.

According to the present invention, an ear-shaped traveller is formed as an integral plastic molding, the upper portion of which defines a rounded loop having a diameter of at least a quarter the depth of the ring on which the traveller is designed to run, substantially all the loop being situated above, and opening downwardly towards, a bearing surface for engaging the top of the ring, and from which a portion extends downwardly for engaging the outer surface of the ring.

The provision of such a loop, which is much larger than in previous constructions, allows the free passage of any enlargements in the yarn or of any lumps of material which may possibly have become caught up by the fibres. Although there may have appeared to be room for the passage of such lumps with previous constructions of traveller, the lumps have nevertheless been impeded and it is this which has been responsible for a large number of the yarn breaks obtained. A traveller in accordance with the invention overcomes these difficulties. For convenience, the diameter of the loop has been related to the depth of the ring on which the traveller is designed to run, but in practice this depth is almost exactly equal to the distance between the upper bearing surface of the traveller and the lower surface which encircles the bottom of the ring.

In most previous constructions of traveller the loop for the passage of the yarn has been approximately level with the top of the ring and consequently as the traveller has become worn during use the loop has become narrower, thus further impeding the passage of lumps of material. With a construction in accordance with the invention the fact that the loop lies above the top of the ring means that however much the traveller may wear the width of the loop is not affected.

The possibility of providing a loop of this large size arises from the fact that the loop lies above the upper surface of the ring during spinning and its diameter is thus not governed by the available space between the inner surface of the ring and the package which is being built up on the bobbin, particularly if, as is preferred, a substantial part of the loop lies outside the bearing surface on the traveller which engages the inner surface of the ring. In other words, it is possible to provide this enlarged loop without reducing the capacity of the bobbin.

A further cause of yarn breaks in the past has been the tendency of fibres to wind themselves round the upper portion of the traveller so as ultimately to form a collar of fibres which affects the free passage of the yarn through the loop and also interferes with free rotation of the traveller around the ring. Preferably, therefore, the cross section of the traveller is such that it does not increase between the loop and the toe portion. In practice, this cross section may conveniently decrease slightly towards the toe portion. With such a shaping, even if a collar of fibres start to collect around the traveller, it is a simple matter to remove it merely by sliding it over the toe of the traveller. This shaping also assists the entry of the yarn into the loop during piecing-up.

A further problem which arises is due to the wear caused by the cutting action of the yarn on the traveller. Preferably therefore a traveller in accordance with the present invention is made of nylon reinforced by glass fibres as described and claimed in our British patent specification No. 964,966. It is found that this form of construction enables the traveller to withstand the wear of the yarn passing around it to a much greater extent than if the traveller were made of nylon alone. Moreover the presence of the glass fibres stiifens the body of the traveller as a whole and reduces the risk of it being pulled off the ring by a sudden increase of tension in the yarn.

This is most likely to happen with the smaller sizes of traveller particularly after a long period of use when the main body of the traveller has been subjected to wear.

A construction in accordance with the invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of the traveller to an enlarged scale;

FIGURE 2 is an end view of the traveller as seen from the left of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 shows the same traveller in its running position on the ring; and

FIGURE 4 shows the traveller slightly raised from the position of FIGURE 3 either for the purpose of piecingup or for removing a collar of fibres from the loop of the traveller.

The traveller shown in the drawings is formed as an integral plastic moulding from a wear-resisting plastic such as nylon. Preferably the nylon is reinforced by glass fibres as described above. The traveller has a main body portion 1 having a lower curved portion 2 for encircling the bottom of a spinning ring 3 as seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. The main portion 1 is formed with a bearing surface 4 which engages the inner surface of the ring 3. The upper portion of the traveller defines a rounded loop 5 which lies above a bearing surface 6 for engaging the top of the ring 3 as seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. Beyond the bearing surface 6, a toe portion 7 extends down- 3 wardly for engaging the outer surface of the ring 3. The loop opens downwardly towards the bearing surface 6 so that, in the position of FIGURE 4, yarn shown as 11 may be passed through the space between the toe 7 and the ring 3.

As can be seen from FIGURE 1 the loop 5 has a diameter somewhat greater than a quarter of the depth of the ring 3. This depth is substantially equal to the distance between the lower portion 2 of the traveller and the bearing surface 6 so that the diameter of the loop 5 is specifically related to the vertical dimension of the traveller as a whole. This size of loop is considerably greater than with previous constructions of traveller and is made possible, as previously described, by the fact that substantially all the loop lies above the bearing surface 6 and consequently it is not governed by the available space between the inner surface of the ring 3 and the package 12 which is being built up on the bobbin. The provision of the large loop 5 is facilitated by the fact that a substantial part of the loop lies outside the bearing surface 4, that is to say to the left of the bearing surface 4 as indicated by the dotted line representing a continuation of this surface in FIGURE 1. As a result of continued operation, the traveller will tend to wear along the bearing surface 4 which is in engagement with the ring 3 and the portion 1 will therefore tend to get thinner over this region and the traveller will be displaced towards the left in relation to the ring 3 as seen in FIGURES 3 and 4. It is clear from these figures that such displacement of the traveller will not in any way affect the effective diameter of the loop 5 and that there will still be the same free space for the passage of the yarn 11. On the other hand, with previous constructions of traveller where the loop has been lower so as to lie within the ring 3 and thus to be defined between the ring and the body of the traveller, such displacement would inevitably reduce the free space within the loop.

FIGURES 3 and 4 show details of the construction of the ring 3 which is of a known type and is shown mounted within a supporting plate 14. The yarn 11 passes downwardly, passes around the loop 5 and then on to the bobbin 12. The large diameter of the loop 5 allows any enlargements or lumps on the yarn 11 to pass without difliculty. FIGURE 3 shows the formation of a small collar 15 around the upper part of the loop 5 which, as can be seen, tends to impede the passage of the yarn 11 round the loop. It is important, therefore, that this collar 15 should be capable of removal without difficulty. For this purpose the left hand side of the loop 5 as seen in FIGURES l, 3 and 4 is tapered as shown at 16 in FIG- URE 2. In a direction at right angles to this there is no taper in the loop itself and at the right hand corner of the bearing surface 6 there is in fact a slight increase in the transverse dimension. Nevertheless the combination of this with the taper 16 is such that there is no increase in the cross sectional area which would impede the removal of the collar 15. Since moreover the surface of the traveller is quite smooth it is a simple matter to lift the traveller to the position shown in FIGURE 4 and then to slide the collar 15 through the position shown as 15 in FIGURE 4 and thence off the toe 7. In the position of FIGURE 4 there is a small clearance between the bearing surface 6 and the top of the ring and this is quite suflicient for the removal of the collar 15. During piecing-up this same space is also suflicient for the introduction of the yarn 11 into the loop 5.

As a result of the various features just described, the traveller is capable of spinning for long periods without risk of yarn break. Any wear arising from long periods of operation does not adversely affect the properties of the traveller and if spinning has to be interrupted owing to the formation of the collar 15, this can be removed very speedily.

I claim:

1. A traveller for a spinning ring comprising, an elongate main body portion having one side forming a first bearing surface adapted to engage the inner surface of an associated spinning ring, a lower portion rigidly depending from said main body portion and being hooked in shape towards said one side to be engageable on the bottom of a spinning ring, and an upper portion projecting rigidly from said main body portion and having a generally annular shape defining a rounded loop for receiving yarn, a bottom part of the upper portion including a second bearing surface spaced laterally outwardly from said one side of the main body portion, said second bearing surface lying in a plane transverse to the longitudinal direction of said main body portion and being dimensioned to be engageable with the top of a spinning ring, said upper portion being dimensioned such that the loop formed thereby has a diameter at least one quarter of the distance between said second bearing surface and said lower hooked portion and with a substantial portion of the area of said loop lying to said one side of the main body portion and above said second bearing surface, said second bearing surface having an inner end spaced from said main body portion to define therewith an opening into the loop.

2. The traveller defined in claim 1 wherein said second bearing surface has an outer end and the traveller further includes a toe portion extending downwardly from the outer end of said second bearing surface generally at right angles thereto for engaging the outer surface of a spinning ring.

3. The traveller defined in claim 2 having an integral one piece, generally ear-shaped body formed from nylon reinforced with glass fibers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 586,230 7/1897 Booth 57-125 2,780,048 2/1957 Hurst 57125 X 3,055,166 9/1962 Morin 57-425 3,134,219 5/1964 Carter et a1. 57-125 3,313,098 4/1967 Morin 57-125 JOHN PETRAKES, Primary Examiner. 

